There’s An Intriguing Airplane Boneyard In Arizona That You Need To Visit
Arizona is well-known as a snowbird paradise—for both the flying and biped kind—because of the mild winters and sunny days that are great for winter food supply and aging joints. But did you know our state is also the perfect retirement home for another flying creature? Well, less of a creature and more of a contraption.
We’re aware that these uncertain times are limiting many aspects of life as we all practice social and physical distancing. While we’re continuing to feature destinations that make our state wonderful, we don’t expect or encourage you to go check them out immediately. We believe that supporting local attractions is important now more than ever and we hope our articles inspire your future adventures! And on that note, please nominate your favorite local business that could use some love right now: https://www.onlyinyourstate.com/nominate/
This is the Aerospace Maintenance and Regeneration Group at the Davis-Monthan Air Force Base but it is more popularly known as the “Boneyard.”
We’re talking more than 4,000 old military and NASA planes hanging out in the arid Sonoran desert just shy of the Rincon Mountains. In fact, it’s the largest of its kind in the world!
The humidity is low year-round (to prevent mold), there are few rainy days (to prevent rust or floating away), and the soil type is sturdy enough to prevent the planes from sinking into the dirt during storage or moving.
The facility was established just seven months after World War II ended to house excess Air Force aircraft, like B-29s.
In addition to the rows of identical planes, you’ll also come across some historical finds that stand out, like this old helicopter that you might recognize from footage from the Vietnam War.
While most of the aircraft stored long-term are painted white to reflect the hot desert sun, this one saw new life as an artist’s canvas.
If you have some time to spare, check out this video from Arizona Public Media that gives a nice, detailed overview of the Boneyard.
Tours of the boneyard are available on weekdays from the Pima Air and Space Museum, located at 6000 East Valencia Road in Tucson. Tickets cost $7 ($4 for children 12 and under). Additional information can be found on their website, pimaair.org.
Monica is a Diné (Navajo) freelance writer and photographer based in the Southwest. Born in Gallup and raised in Phoenix, she is Tódich'ii'nii (Bitter Water People) and Tsi'naajinii (Black Streak Wood People). Monica is a staff writer for Only In Your State, photo editor for The Mesa Legend, and previously a staff writer for The Navajo Post. You can reach her at [email protected]
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